Connecticut Foot Care Centers LLC donated around 100 pairs of new shoes to the tiny Middletown-based nonprofit, which provides free services to seniors. The medical practice recently stopped selling orthopedic shoes, but instead of returning the shoes that each of its six offices used to determine sizing, the doctors decided to donate them locally.

"There's a lot of need out there," said Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, a podiatrist.

The bounty included shoes in a variety of sizes and styles, from enormous sneakers to dainty Mary Janes. All the donated footwear has extra cushioning and support and runs wide to minimize toe rubbing. The shoes would retail for about $140 a

pair, Kahn said, and the total donation was worth around $10,000.

Kahn, who says he wears orthopedic shoes himself, said he asked a patient, Bill Wasch, if he knew a good place to donate the shoes, knowing that Wasch has been active in senior issues locally for years. Wasch, who serves on the board of directors for St. Luke's Eldercare Solutions, recommended the nonprofit.

Diane Cummings, executive director of St. Luke's, said she was delighted to get the shoes to give away.

"My first thought was, what a great thing to be able to offer our clients," she said. Her organization provides services such as grocery shopping and rides to medical appointments free of charge, and most of the approximately 300 clients from neighboring towns live on low fixed incomes, she said.

Cummings and the only other full-time staffer of St. Luke's, Community Outreach Coordinator Cecilia Hemsley, loaded a car Wednesday with the shoes, which had been stashed in an X-ray room in the Saybrook Road location of the practice. They brought them first to the 25 residents of the nonprofit's subsidized housing on Broad Street for first pick.

Other clients have already asked them to reserve shoes in their size, Cummings said, but they still anticipate having more to give away.

Anyone who wants a pair of the shoes can call St. Luke's Eldercare Solutions, whose office is located at 100 Riverview Center, at (860) 347-5661.